Snapshots of Life
by bahjcb
Summary: Chad Dylan Cooper was used to getting whatever he wanted. The problem came when he wasn't exactly sure what he wanted; which was especially odd because Chad Dylan Cooper always knew what he wanted.
1. A Richer Life

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything—**_**Sonny With a Chance**_** nor the quotes I use at the start of the chapters. Actually, I own depressingly little – except, I'm afraid, student loans…if one can own that. Anyway, on with the story!**

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_If anyone can make me a better person you could / All I gotta say is I musta done something good / I came along one day and you rearranged my life / All I gotta say is I musta done something right –Relient K, "Must Have Done Something Right"_

Chad Dylan Cooper may have only had a "small but crucial role," but he _was_ Chad Dylan Cooper and that garnered him a certain amount of respect – and perks. So, leaning back in his director's chair, Chad ignored the busy world around him as showed off his famous pout and sipped on a bottle of water.

He might have continued in that vain for the rest of his break but Becca, the Craft Service Girl, came scurrying up to him with a shy smile and a laden plate. Obviously in awe, the girl practically curtseyed as she cooed, "Mr. Cooper, I remember how much you liked the pineapple meatballs and made sure to make a batch especially for you."

"Thanks, Becky," Chad replied with his award winning smile as he took the plate from the soon to be swooning girl.

"You're welcome, Mr. Cooper. If you need or even want anything else, just call for me."

"I'll be sure to do that."

Sighing, Becca turned on her heel making immediate plans to inform all her friends and family that she changed her mind. Becky was NOT the most annoying nickname of all time. In fact, from that moment on, she would not answer unless she was addressed by that name—unless, of course, she decided to make it Chad Dylan Cooper's special pet name for her.

Not noticing any of this, Chad used his fork to push the meatballs around his plate not feeling particularly hungry at the moment as his thoughts were consuming him. Tired of not being in complete control and actually _doubting_ himself, Chad gave a grunt of dissatisfaction and closed his eyes in an attempt to close out the world.

The newly named Becky had not gotten far at all when she heard Chad's grunt and quickly flipped around. Misinterpreting his anger at the meatballs and not himself, Becky rushed back over to him, determined to make everything alright.

"Mr. Cooper, is something wrong with the meatballs? Do you want something else?"

Reluctantly pealing his eyes open, Chad looked down at the overeager fan and willed himself (almost against his will really) to be nice.

"There's nothing wrong with the meatballs, Becky. I'm just not feeling very hungry at the moment."

"Oh," she sighed in disappointment.

Turning to leave once again, she was stopped by Chad's voice as he said, more to himself than her, "Why do I care?"

This time, Becky realized that he wasn't talking to her, but the idea that her idol was in pain…

"Why do you care about what?" she quickly asked before she could change her mind.

Straightening, Chad looked the Craft Service Girl over before deciding that perhaps an objective third-party (or as objective as anyone speaking to Chad Dylan Cooper could possibly be) might be of some help.

"I actually know your name," Chad informed her.

Not bothering to correct him, as Becky had now decided that _was_ her name, she nodded to show she was listening.

"I don't bother to learn anyone's names. That takes effort and interest."

"And I'm just a peon," Becky wisely answered. She wasn't the least bit offended. She knew exactly what she was and never expected anyone like _Chad Dylan Cooper_ to think any differently.

"I don't know the names of _anyone_ over in Chuckle City **except** Sonny Monroe. The only reason the blonde girl on their show got invited to my birthday party was because I wanted Sonny there and didn't think she'd come if her whinny friend didn't get invited. My assistant found out the girl's name for the invites."

"Wow," Becky sighed. "That was so _great_ of you."

"Sonny's best friend from Wisconsin was in town. I even invited _her_, an absolute _nobody_, to come along."

"You _are_ amazing, Chad Dylan Cooper!"

"I know," he replied in a bored tone. Leaning forward and lowering his voice to signal the sharing of a secret, Chad added, "She's causing me to…_care_ about others." Straightening back up, he went on, "My life was perfect until that perky, _comedian_, from Wisconsin breezed into my life making me think about how my actions affected others."

Groaning, Chad leaned back in his chair. Bordering on whining, he said, "What did I do wrong?"

"Maybe you didn't do anything wrong," Becky tentative put out.

"What do you mean?" Chad asked, suddenly interested.

"Caring could be a good thing. People, other people, make our lives more interesting. Richer. Better?" She didn't mean to say the last word as a question, but Chad Dylan Cooper appeared to actually be interested in what she was saying and that threw her more than anything ever had.

"So…Sonny might actually be a _reward_?"

"Yes," Becky quickly assured him, nodding enthusiastically. "Sonny is a cosmic reward for your wonderful Chad-ness."

Leaning back in his chair, Chad decided that he actually _was_ hungry. Picking up his fork and spearing a meatball, he said, "Thanks, Becky. You've been really helpful."

"My pleasure, Mr. Cooper," she quickly assured him. "Always my pleasure."

Smirking, Chad took a bite of the meatball. Swallowing he added with his trademark grin, "This is excellent, Becky. Thanks for remembering me."

Becky actually thought she might die of happiness.


	2. Challenge

_I find sometimes it's easy to be myself / sometimes I find it's better to be somebody else –Dave Matthews Band, "So Much to Say"_

Chad Dylan Cooper would never admit it but part of the reason he loved acting was being someone else. Being Chad Dylan Cooper could be exhausting. There were so many expectations to live up to. Granted, most of them he created on his own, but still. It _was_ nice to occasionally be someone else.

Even being Mackenzie, with all of his dramatic and complicated problems were easier to deal with and not just because most of them were wrapped up with within an hour. No maybe the fact that they _were_ complicated was what Chad Dylan Cooper liked. Being himself was easy. Everyone either wanted to be him or be with him. He had it all and everything came easily.

If Chad Dylan Cooper ever had a moment of self reflection, he would wonder if perhaps this was what he liked about Sunny Monroe. After her first thirty seconds of fangirl-ness, she treated him like any other self-conceited jerk she came across. There was nothing about her that was easy.

And secretly, Chad Dylan Cooper liked a challenge.


	3. It Comes and Goes

**A/N: Writer's block and insomnia – hopefully that explains it all.**

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_You don't know me now / I kidda thought that you should somehow… / And I've been changin' / think it's funny how no one knows –Matchbox 20, "Mad Season"_

Chad felt his teeth clench as he watch Sonny storm away from him. Calling him a stupid jerk was completely uncalled for. He did _not_ make that random make-up person cry. Her father had just died. She'd been bursting into tears at various, seemingly unrelated, times all week. All he said was she should take the week off or until she could control her emotions. That was him being caring. The fact that he even knew _why_ she was crying showed that he was caring.

Didn't Sonny notice that he was trying? He may not be very good at this empathy thing but he'd never tried before. He was changing, Chad decided, and it was ticking him off that he was getting ticked off for actions he wasn't even doing anymore. He was not being a self-involved jerk face, damn it, and if Sonny Monroe couldn't figure that out he didn't want anything to do with her.

It only ticked Chad off more to know that he would be wandering over to Chuckle City in a few days (more likely hours) just to see her. Stomping back to his dressing room, Chad decided he needed to work on his self-control along with that whole empathy thing.


	4. Purely Boredom

_Round 'n round 'n round we go / Just like yesterday –The Pretenders, "Day After Day"_

Chad Dylan Cooper was rather proud of his epiphany. It was much better than Portlyn's idea at any rate. Of course, Chad thought, the girl couldn't talk without a script so it wasn't so surprising that she would get everything _all_ wrong.

Portlyn had come up with the absolutely crazy idea that the reason that Chad visited Chuckle City more often (read as everyday) was that he had a crush on someone – the last word she would say with a sing-songy effect. Chad Dylan Cooper did NOT have crushes. He did think Hannah Montana was cute, but it was only because her stardom actually equaled his and it wouldn't be embarrassing to be seen with her. Though, to be honest, he did think some of her outfits were crazy tacky.

Regardless of all that, CDC was not one who had crushes. Girls had crushes on _him_, not the other way around.

While pretending to actually care about what was going on in a scene without him in it, Chad came to the realization that Portlyn was an idiot. He also realized that Stage Two was actually kind of…not boring, just repetitive. The cast of Mackenzie Falls did exactly what he wanted them to do every single day. And while it was good to be king, it could get…monotonous.

That, Chad decided, was it. Chuckle City, as subpar as they were, tried to be interesting and they _were_doing something different each day. He may visit more often (Portlyn was completely _wrong_ about it being everyday), but it was just for the entertainment factor. And it was fun to lord his superiority around over those "funny" people.

And, if he does hang around Sonny more than the others in Chuckle City (not that Portlyn could possibly be correct about anything) it's only because she's their queen and a king does not bother with the little people. That's ALL it is, Chad Dylan Cooper thought, congratulating himself on discovering (rationalizing…whatever) the true reason for his recent interest in any other show besides his own.


	5. The Farce Awards

**A/N: methegirl told me that chapter 2 was too short. I promised her that if I didn't make the chapter long, I'd give her several chapters all at once. I may not have updated in forever, but I did remember that. That is why this is the third out of the three chapters I'm posting today. I hope you all are enjoying this as much as I am in writing them.**

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_Well I don't know why I came here tonight, / I got the feeling that something ain't right…Clowns to the left of me, / Jokers to the right, here I am, / Stuck in the middle with you. –Stealers Wheel, "Stuck in the Middle With You"_

_The Farce Awards_ were some idiot's idea of funny, Chad Dylan Cooper had decided when he first heard about the moronic ceremony. As there were awards for just about everything, it wasn't really surprising that someone decided to have an awards show completely dedicated to "comedy." Since _Mackenzie Falls_ was a much better genre, **drama,** Chad really didn't pay much attention to the inception of the new thing.

Two years later, however, Sonny Monroe had joined the cast of _So Random!_ and the show actually had a chance of winning something besides "Most Pathetic Attempt at Humor." The cast was ecstatic and Chad had the misfortune of hearing about it ad nauseam whenever he went to the studio's cafeteria or happened to be wandering around _So Random!_ for no discernable reason.

What caught CDC's attention, however, was Sonny's reaction. She was practically glowing with excitement. Somehow, to this day he has no idea how it happened, Chad ended up listening to Sonny spend fifteen whole minutes describing the dress she was going to wear to _The Farce Awards_. Deciding she would look pretty and he did like her in red, Chad considered attending.

He was Chad Dylan Cooper so it wasn't like he couldn't attend. The publicity would be nice, not that he needed it for the aforementioned reason that he was who he was, but still, publicity never hurt. So for these rather vague reasons, and not the indistinct idea that Chad didn't want Sonny to be looking good and appearing available in front of all those single, desperate comics, Chad decided to grace _The Farce Awards_ with his presence.

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Chad Dylan Cooper now knew what hell was and this was it. Standing up a little straighter so that he didn't touch the literal and creepy looking clown on his left and the "funny" physical humorist on his right, Chad wondered if he could sneak out of this place without anyone noticing. It was one thing to get publicity for attending an awards ceremony outside his preferred genre, it was another for the media to realize he'd run screaming from the craziness.

Just about the time he decide it didn't matter what the public thought (they already thought he was a puppy shover, what was comedy hater to that) Chad heard the most wonderful sound.

"Chad," Sonny called with an excitement only she could generate. "Chad, over here."

Escaping with a strained smile and a nod, Chad hurried over to Sonny, a large grin blossoming upon his face.

"You look good, Monroe. Much better than what you wore to prom," he teased. A talent he didn't demonstrate with anyone else.

Blushing prettily, Sonny replied, "I don't know, I thought I looked pretty good as a mermaid."

"Prettiest one I've seen," Chad blurted out without thinking.

As always, whenever they leaned into flirting territory, Sonny got all flustered and unsure of where to go next. Changing the subject seemed like her best bet, so she unsubtly asked, "What are you doing here, Mr. Drama Snob? I thought you didn't attend _The Farce Awards_."

"Well, I don't. Usually," Chad agreed. "I just had nothing to do tonight so I thought, why not?"

"Chad Dylan Cooper with nothing to do?" Sonny asked with a grin. "Unbelievable."

Shrugging, Chad returned her grin with one of his own. "It happens. Not often, but it does." Looking around, he asked, "Where's the rest of _So Random!_? I thought you would all be linked together."

Once again, a light blush crept up Sonny's face. Looking slightly embarrass, she calmly informed the tween sensation that, "I lost them. We came together, but I saw you over there and I lost them. You looked uncomfortable."

"And you came to rescue me?" Chad asked with an ever widening grin.

"No," Sonny declared. "I…well, maybe. What of it?"

Offering her his arm, Chad suggested, "Maybe you should sit with me. Protect me from all the…_comics_."

Slipping her arm around his, Sonny countered, "Or protect them from you?"

"Either way," he agreed with a shrug.

"Okay," Sonny decided, leading him to their seats with a happy grin.


End file.
